The Information-Based Indicia Program (IBIP) is a distributed trusted system proposed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to retrofit and augment existing postage meters using new technology known as information-based indicia. The program relies on digital signature techniques to produce for each envelope an indicium whose origin cannot be repudiated. IBIP is expected to support new methods of applying postage in addition to, and eventually in lieu of, the current approach, which typically relies on a postage meter to mechanically print indicia on mailpieces. IBIP requires printing a large, high density, two-dimensional (2-D) bar code on a mailpiece. The 2-D bar code encodes information and is signed with a digital signature.
The USPS has published draft specifications for IBIP. The INFORMATION BASED INDICIA PROGRAM (IBIP) INDICIUM SPECIFICATION, dated Jun. 13, 1996, ("IBIP Indicium Specification") defines the proposed requirements for a new indicium that will be applied to mail being processed using IBIP. The INFORMATION BASED INDICIA PROGRAM POSTAL SECURITY DEVICE SPECIFICATION, dated Jun. 13, 1996, ("IBIP PSD Specification") defines the proposed requirements for a Postal Security Device (PSD) that will provide security services to support the creation of a new "information based" postage postmark or indicium that will be applied to mail being processed using IBIP. The INFORMATION BASED INDICIA PROGRAM HOST SYSTEM SPECIFICATION, dated Oct. 9, 1996, defines the proposed requirements for a host system element of IBIP ("IBIP Host Specification"). The specifications are collectively referred to herein as the "IBIP Specifications". IBIP includes interfacing user (customer), postal and vendor infrastructures which are the system elements of the program.
The user infrastructure, which resides at the user's site, comprises a postage security device (PSD) coupled to a host system. The PSD is a secure processor-based accounting device that dispenses and accounts for postal value stored therein. The host system (Host) may be a personal computer (PC) or a meter-based host processor.
The IBIP Indicium Specification provides requirements for the indicium that consists of both human-readable data and PDF417 bar code data. The human-readable information includes an originating address, including the 5-digit ZIP Code of the licensing post office, PSD ID/Type number, date of mailing and amount of the applied postage. The bar code region of the indicium elements includes postage amount, PSD ID, customer ID, date of mailing, originating address, destination delivery point identification, ascending and descending registers and a digital signature.
An integrated mailing system is subject to open system requirements if it includes a computer interfaced to the meter and it prepares mailpiece fonts or labels that include both the destination address and the indicium. The integrated system is an open system even if different printers apply the address and the indicium. If the mailing system satisfies such criteria, the USPS considers the "meter" to be an open system peripheral device that performs the dual functions of printing the indicia and interfacing the PSD to the open host. The integrated mailing system must be approved by the USPS according to open system criteria.
The IBIP Host Specification sets forth the requirements for a Host in an open system. The Host produces the mailpiece front including the return address (optional), the delivery address (required), the Facing Identification Mark (FIM), and the indicium as an integral unit. The Host may print this unit on the actual mailpiece stock or label(s) for later attachment to the mailpiece. The Host provides the user with an option to omit the FIM (e.g., when the FIM is preprinted on envelopes). The Host produces standardized addresses, including standard POSTNET delivery point bar code, for use on the mailpiece. The Host verifies each address at the time of mailpiece creation. The Host then creates the indicium and transmits it to the printer.
It is expected that once IBIP is launched, the volume of meters will increase significantly when the PC-based meters are introduced. Such volume increase is expected in the small office and home office (SOHO) market. The IBIP Specifications address and resolve issues which minimize if not eliminate USPS risks regarding security and fraud. However, as with any system implemented on a non-secure device, such as a personal computer, an implementation of an IBIP system may have inherent security weaknesses that could be exploited by sophisticated users intent on defrauding the USPS.
For example, a typical user interface for application programs provides a user with the ability to display a "print preview" of a document prior to printing the document. The IBIP Specifications does not preclude the Host from similarly displaying completely prepared mailpieces, i.e. envelopes with destination address, return address and indicium, prior to printing the envelope. Such display of the mailpiece may subject to abuse by a user.